Our Rainbow Baby, Luke

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

They always have an ultimatum attached to them. If you don't pass this on to 100 people in the next 20 minutes, bad things will happen to you.

Really?

If I don't pass this letter on to 10 other people, something bad is going to happen to me? hmmmm....

Or what about the ones about Jesus?

If you don't share this with 12 other people in the next 5 minutes you are telling Jesus you don't love Him and you are denying the cross.

Really? I didn't know that my love for Christ was based on how many times I passed on a stupid little email. By not sharing the email I'm denying the cross? Wow. I guess I've got a spot in hell resereved just for me then.

Or what about the ones that say at 11:02 am tomorrow morning, something great will happen to you.

Was the originator of the email a prophet? Could they see the future and all of the people who will receive the emial?

I didn't think so.

My life has had plenty of bad things happen. My life has also had plenty of good things happen. I love Jesus because of what He did for me on the cross. I try to praise Him through the good and the bad. None of that is going to change because of a silly little email that tells me what to do.

Please think about the next chain mail/forward you send. What if you sent it and the next morning a child died? What if you sent it and the next morning you found $20 on the sidewalk? What if the person you sent it to isn't a believer and then just by chance something happened to them when the email said it would. Don't spread false hope. Don't make others feel guilty for not passing on an email about Jesus.

Maybe I've gone over the edge with this one, but those things get me so angry. Don't spread false hope people!

23 comments:

I completely agree. The "good luck" ultimatums are bad enough, but honestly, threatening the state of a person's eternal salvation if they don't forward a stupid email is one of my biggest pet peeves...not to mention outright blasphemy.

I understand 100%. I never forward those things. If it is an email that I really like and then at the end it says to forward it. I will forward it with a note that says, "Im not forwarding this bc it's telling me to Im forwarding it because its a good email. PLEASE ignore the forward to _____ amount of people and just enjoy the email." Or if the email will let you, I will just hightlight the good part and copy and paste to a new one.

Another way you can do that is to copy and paste the email. Then you can delete the please forward part. Personally, I don't even open emails that I think are like that. I just delete them. You are definately not alone on this one Jill!!

I hate fowards of any kind, unless the person sending it took the time to A) read it. B) thought I would gain (knowledge, a laugh, or enjoyment) out of reading it and C) the biggest thing: I am one of maybe 5 people they sent it to AND they took the time to WRITE a note to us saying WHY they were passing it on.Otherwise I just delete the stuff straight-away. I never chain mail stuff. It's just stupid! You go girl!

Thank you!!!! I could not have said it better myself. Not to mention why would I want to send 10, 12, 5 or whatever number the email dictates, of my friends an email that would threaten them or make them feel guilty. I am with you - Just say no!

I feel the same way. I get at least 5 of these a week from friends and they get deleted by the time Ive read the 2nd line. Nothing worse can happen to a person then losing your child; chain email or no chain email.

I hate these things! The worst, though, was one that talked about motherhood (actually, a very sweet message), and then ended with the threat that if I didn't forward it, I would never have children. As a woman struggling to conceive, it was incredibly horrible - I emailed the sender and she was horrified, saying she hadn't read past the message because she was in a hurry.

Thank you!!! I lost my husband 2/5/08 and I wish I had kept count of how many of those forwards I received that promised blessings on me and the kids as we dealt with the loss of our husband and father. I know that some may have meant well but really, Matt DIED and you expect me to carpet the internet with junk mail in order to get on God's good side? Matt died, how is this junk mail supposed to help me feel that God cares and will bless me if only I send emails to 12 people in the next 12 minutes and even better, receive healing and financial stability if I send it to everyone I know before sunset?!@?! Sad thing is, my husband was a Lutheran pastor AND most of those emails came from so-called Christians and church-leaders! So thank you for writing a perfect reaction to these wastes of time that are so hurtful. It is nice to know that I am not alone. (And yes, I still get them from people who think they are helping me :P)

It's hard to open an email if the subject line contains fw: because seriously if you think I am basing my life on something as ridiculous as luck, we need to talk because this may be God's way of telling me that I need to tell you, the sender, what my hope is based on and why. What is really annoying is when people who are Christians forward this kind of email because it implies that just in case God is not capable of doing his job, I will not look foolish and have something to fall back on, commit or don't but don't ride the fence because lukewarm is cold.